Greenstein Keeping a Positive Outlook at the Tables

Barry Greenstein is not someone that complains. The even-mannered poker pro has been on both the winning and losing side of poker’s biggest televised pots and his demeanor has remained the same regardless of how each hand ended. What is the secret to Greenstein’s ability to weather the constant ups and downs of playing high stakes poker? It all goes back to when he first started to play and was still forming his poker philosophy as he writes in his latest post in PokerStarsBlog.

The “Robin Hood of Poker” learned very early that complaining or whining at the tables was simply a show of ignorance. His lesson came from a seasoned road gambler when Greenstein had the misfortune of losing a big pot. After muttering a few choice words, the old gambler asked him why he was complaining. After all, he was still playing poker and losing – the second best thing in life. The first, of course, being playing poker and winning.

Armed with this knowledge, the Team PokerStars Pro has kept having a positive attitude as a high priority in his career. Unfortunately, the legendary pro considers 2013 as a year where he spent too much time doing the second best thing in life instead of the first. At the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event earlier this year, Greenstein felt like he played timidly in a situation that demanded aggression. After losing the hand and being eliminated, he decided to change up his playing strategy for the rest of the year.

Because aggression is so highly rewarded in poker tournaments, it pays to play strong and attempt to build a big chip stack during the early stages. From there, a player can use the accumulated chips into bullying their opponents and furthering their lead. It is this idea that Greenstein has in mind and he is planning to be extremely aggressive during the first days of big events – a time when many competitors are playing much tighter. His first chances to employ this tactic will be the upcoming Aussie Millions and then a major event at the Commerce Casino.

Only time will tell if this new strategy and Greenstein’s patented positive attitude will result in more wins on the felt. Even if he loses, he’ll still be doing the second best thing in life.